Means for feeding sheet material



C. F. PFLANZE.

MEANS FOR FEEDING SHEET MATERIAL.

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APPLICATION FILED NOV-23,1917.

C. F. PFLANZE.

MEANS FOR FEEDING SHEET MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-23,1917.

1,385,468. Patented July 26,1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- 7 inventor: G. F; Pflanz'e ATTYs.

C. F. PFLANZE.

MEANS FOR FEEDING SHEET MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 23, I917.

' Patented July 26,1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

mvenbor: GI. Pilanze ATT'YS.

C. F. PFLANZE.

MEANS FOR FEEDING SHEET MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 23, 1917.

1,385,468. Patented July 26, 1921.

5 SHEEIS-SHEET 4.

Q I N I 1 $3 3; N 2 4 inventor: C. F. Pflanze ATTYs.

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cf F. PFLANZE.

MEANS FOR FEEDING SHEET MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-23,1917. 1,385,468.

1 0H wzm 95 Y N fl w 6m W A 2 DI Q m W W CY d5 5 e m w a P UNITED.STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OHARLES F. IPFLANZE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

MEANS FOR FEEDING SHEET MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J l 26. 1921 Application filedNovember 23, 1917. Serial No. 203,523.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. PFLANZE, a citizen of the United Statesof America,- a resident of the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for FeedingSheet Material, of which the following the earlier mechanical devicesand methods have been otherwise unsatisfactory. The machine hereindisclosed will take envelop blanks, one at a time, from a source ofsupply and arrange the blanks in a long continuous traveling pile,leaving marginal p0-rtions of the sheets exposed in a continuous line atone surface of the pile. The mar-. gins can be easily gummed by merelyapplying the gum to the continuous exposed surface.

More specifically stated, the preferred form of the invention comprisesa high speed transmission device whereby sheets of material, such asenvelop blanks, are taken one at a time from a pile and quicklytransmitted to an accumulator, including a low speed feeding devicewhereby the sheets are ad'- vanced at a relatively low speed. Theindividual sheets, passing quickly from the source of supply, areretarded and permitted to accumulate in a long pile with their front andrear margins exposed at the top and bottom of the pile. The relativelyhigh speed is'so great that, an entire individual sheet will bedelivered to the traveling pile while the latter advances a distanceequal to the width of one of the exposed margins.

The sealing flaps of envelop blanks are usually gummed bythe means forgumming the other flaps which are closed and sealed by the envelopfolding mechanism immediately after the gumming operations. If the flapsare gummed. and sealed in this manner, complex mechanism must beemployed and care must be exercised to prevent the fresh gum on thesealing flaps from contacting with/the other elements, for the creasingand? folding operations are performed while the gum is in an adhesivecondltlOIL However, if the sealing flaps are gummed and permitted to drybefore the blanks are delivered to the mechanism for gumming and foldingthe other flaps, they an be creased, folded, closed and carried awayfrom the machine by a comparatively slmple mechanism. Therefore, one ofmy 0b]6CtS is to provide an efficient means for gumm ng the sealingflaps of envelop blanks before they are introduced into the means forgumming and folding the other flaps.

Another object is to produce a machine of the character describedadapted to be easily ad usted to act upon envelop blanks of differentdlmensio-ns, and also adjustable to arrange the blanks in such a mannerthat gum-receiving margins of any desired width can be exposed to thegumming device.

Flgure I is a side elevation, partly in sect10n 1llustrating a feedingand gumming machine embodying the features of the pres ent 1nvention.

Fig. II is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the machine.

Fig. III is a section taken approximately on the line III-III, Fig. II.

Fig. IV is a section taken approximately on the line IVIV, Fig. III,showing the long continuous pile of envelopblanks.

Fig. V is a detail View showing one of the envelop blanks.

Fig. VI is a diagrammatical view of the means for taking the blanks, oneat a time, from an inclined pile,- and arranging them in a longcontinuous pile so as to expose the gum-rece1v1ng margins.

Before pointing out the minor details of construction, I will brieflydescribe the general features of the new method and apparatus.

Fig. V shows a sheet of material in the form of an envelop blank Ahaving its sealing flap gummed as shown at A. Fig. VI diagrammaticallyillustrates an inclined pile of the blanks A resting upon an inclinedsupport 1 near a high speed feeding or transferring device. also shownin Fig. III. The high speed feeder preferably includes a constantlyrotating member 2 having a friction member 3, such as a small block ofrubber, projecting from its periphery and adapted to en- These elementsare feeding device.

gage the top sheet of the adjacent pile, so as to deliver said top sheetto the high speed The sheets are thus taken, one at a time, from theinclined pile and rapidly transmitted as indicated by arrows (Fig. VI)to a low speed feeding device including the rotating members 4, 4, 5 and5'. The sheets are retarded by the low speed feeding device andpermitted to accumulate in a long continuous traveling pile. The highspeed transferring device delivers one entire sheet to the low speedfeeder while the latter advances the long pile of sheets a distanceequal to the width of one of the gum-receiving margins.

In other words, if each gum-receiving margin is one inch wide, the highspeed transferring device will deliver one entire sheet to the travelingpile while the latter advances a distance of one inch. As a result, thesheets accumulate with their gumreceiving margins exposed in acontinuous line, as shown by Figs. IV and VI.

In addition to the rotating members 4, 4, 5 and 5, the low speed feedingdevice includes a large rotating drum 6 to which the long pile of sheetsis delivered, as indicated by arrows in Figs. I and III, and endlessbands 7 for retaining the sheets in engagement with the periphery of thedrum. Each endless band 7 is fitted to idle wheels 8 and 9, and also toa tightener (Fig. I) consisting of a .wheel 10 mounted at the upper endof an arm 11, the latter being pivoted at 12 and provided with a spring13 tending to retain the band 7 in a taut condition. The rotary feedingmembers 5 and 5' are'in the form of long rolls secured to shafts 14mounted in the main side frames 15. Shafts 16, secured to the rotaryfeeding members 4 and 4', are mounted in arms 17 at opposite sides ofthe machine (Figs. II, III and IV), each of said arms being pivoted at18 and rovided with a spring 19 (Fig. III) tending to force the armdownwardly about the axis of its pivot 18. The rotary feeding members 4and 4' are thus yieldingly mounted above the feed rolls 5 and 5, and thesprings 19 tend to force the upper rotary members toward the lowerrolls. The upper feeding members 4 ma consist of a pair of disks (Figs.II and IT) secured to shaft 16, and the end portions of the adjacentlower roll 5' are preferably reduced in diameter (Figs. III and IV) toreceive the pair of endless bands 7. Each of the yieldingly mountedupper shafts 16 is provided with a gear wheel 20 (Figs. II and IV)meshing with a gear wheel 21 on the adjacent lower shaft 14, so if thelower shafts 14 are driven, power will be transmitted, through the gearwheels 21 and 20, to the upper shafts 16. The teeth ofv these gearwheels are long enough to permit the upper feeding members 4 and 4' torise and fall without disengaging the.

A spring 26 (Fig. I) is connected to the.

lower end of each arm 25 for the purpose of forcing the gumming roll 24toward the large drum 6.

When the machine is in operation, the long pile of blanks accumulatingwith their gum receiving margins exposed as shown in Fig. VI, willtravel in the direction indicated by arrows in Figs-I and III. Morespecifically stated, the long traveling pile of blanks passing from therotary feeding members 4 and 5', will be deflected downwardly by astationary deflector 27 (Figs. I and III) so as to travel between theendless bands 7 and the periphery of the large drum 6. The gum-receivingmargins will be exposed, one after the other, in a continuous line, asshown by Figs. IV and VI, and the gumming roll 24 will apply acontinuous film of gum to these margins. Thereafter, the gummed blankswill continue in motion at the relatively low speed. After travelingslowly with the large drum 6 and endless bands 7, for a considerableperiod oftime, the gummed blanks will be discharged onto a table 28, asindicated by arrows in Figs. I and III. At this time, the gum is dry andthe blanks can be easily handled and delivered to a suitable means forperformin the other envelop making operations.

In passing from the rolls 4 and 5 to the drum 6, the blanks are bentdownwardly, and during this bending operation, the margins of the blankstend to buckle, or bend upwardly, at points between the rotary feedingmembers 4 and 4. However, this does not in any way interfere with thedelivery of the individual sheets to the feeding member 4. It is,therefore, an advantage to use two pairs of the rotary feeding members,with one pair in advance of the other, so as to avoid the undesirableresults which would occur if the thin sheets of paper were permitted tobuckle at points in the path of the rapidly moving sheet'passing fromthe hi h speed transmission device.

In addition to the rotary feeding or projecting member 2, the high speedtransmission device includes a roll 28 arranged directly below therotary feeding member 2,

and a belt 29 surrounding said roll 28 and I by mechanism to behereinafter described. 2

Immediately after the sheets are projected by the high speedtransmission device, they transmission device.

other.

are supported partly by the rotary members 4 and 4, and partly by atable arranged immediately in advance of the high speed This tableisadjustable, and it may consistof a section 31 (Figs. II and III) securedto the main side frames and a section 32 secured to a pair of side framemembers The adjustable table lies in a horizontal plane lower than thetop surface of the belt 29, so that the sheets can be readily projected,one over the Wires 34 extend from a stationary rod 35 to a stationarybar 36, as shown in Figs. II and III for the purpose of limiting theupward movements of the rapidly mov-- mg sheets passing from the highspeed transmission device. The rotary feed roll 4 is preferably groovedas shown in Fig. III, to receive the wires 34.

A friction member 37, preferably a block of rubber, is located adjacentto the rotary feeding member 2 (Figs. III and VI) so as to be engaged bythe lower edges of the uppermost sheets on the inclined table 1. Thisfriction member 37 is located so close to the rotating member 2 that theinclined sheets will not pass from the table 1 until they are engaged bythe friction member 3 projecting from the periphery of the rotary member2. .When the friction member 3 traveling at -high rate of speed, engagesthe uppermost sheet on the inclined table 1, said sheet will be forcedthrough the small gap at the member 37 and delivered to the belt 29. Thesheet will then be advanced at a high rate of speed and delivered to thelow speed feeding device. The next succeeding sheet on the inclinedtable 1 will be retarded by the stationary friction member 37, andprevented from following the rapidly moving sheet. By referring to Figs.III and VI it will be observed that the lower edges of the inclined pileof sheets enga e the inclined table 1 or the friction mem er 37, andthat these sheets are free to drop by gravity so as to pass successivelyto the high speed feeding device. In actual practice, I have found 1tnecessary, or desirable, to accurately adjust the friction member 37relative to the periphery of .the rotary member 2. The friction member37 is, therefore, secured to a lever 38 pivotally connected at 39, tothe upper end of an arm 40. This arm 40 is'a'djustably mounted on:

a rod 41. A bolt 42, pivoted to the arm 40,

- passes through the lever and a nut43 may be adjusted for the purposeof moving said lever 38 on the axis of its pivot 39. A compressionspring 44 surrounding the bolt 42, maintains the lever 38 in engagementwith the nut 43.

The inclined table 1 is rovided with depending arms 45 (Figs. and III)adjust-- ably mounted on a. rod 46.

.All of the elements of the high speed equal to the width of one siondevice is thus mounted in such a man:

ner that it can be adjusted toward and away from the low speed feeder toprovide for the transferring and accumulation of. sheets ofdifierent-dimensions. For the same reason, the table section 32, inadvance'of the high speed transmission device, is attached to theadjustable side frame members 33. j

The distance between the high speed transmission device and the lowspeed feeder is preferably a little greater than the length of one ofthe individual sheets, the object being to positively disengage eachindividual sheet from the high speed transmission device before thesheet reaches the low speed feeder. The sheets are therefore projectedfrom the high speed feeder and thrown for a slight distance, under theinfluence of momentum, to the low speed feeding elements 4 and 5.

Obviously, it is desirable to handle sheets of different dimensions,andthis can be done by merely adjusting the high speed transmissiondevice toward or away from the low speed feeder. make any otheradjustment unless the width of the gum-receiving margin is to bechanged. The high speed transmission device will act upon sheets ofvarious lengths, the circumference of the rotary feeding member 2 beinglarge enough to feeda sheet of the maximum length, and if smaller sheetsare introduced into the machine, the rotary feeder 2 will turn idly fora brief interval of time immediately after it delivers one of the sheetsto the low speed feeding device. Only one sheet will be delivered duringeach revolution of the rotary member 2, for this member has only oneprojecting friction element 3, and the sheets will not pass from theinclined pile until engaged by said friction member 3.

For the foregoing reasons, the high speed transmission device can bevery easily and quickly adjusted to cooperate with the low speed feederin handling sheets of materlal of various different lengths. However, ifthe width of the gum-receiving margin is to be changed, a different kindof adjustment must be made.

To understand this point it is important to observe that the high speedtransmission device delivers one complete sheet of material during thetime required for the low speed feeder to advance the sheets a distanceCgum-receiving margin. As previously state if the gum- It will'not benecessary to receiving margin is to be one inch wide, the

low speed feeder will advance the sheets a distance of one inch duringthe time re-' quired for the high speed device to deliver a completesheet to the traveling pile. Therefore, the width of the gum-receivingmargin depends upon the difference between the high speed and the lowspeed, and not upon the length of the sheet. The means for changing therelative speeds will be presently described.

Any suitable power transmission devices may be utilized to actuate thedifferent elements of the machine, and it is to be under stood that theinvention is not limited to the mechanism, herein shown. This drivingmechanism is shown most clearly in Figs. I and II. 50 designates a gearwheel secured to the shaft 2' and meshin with a gear wl1eel 51 on theshaft 28. ssuming that power is transmitted to the shaft 28,

motion will be transmitted through the gear wheels 50 and 51 for thepurpose of driving the rotary member 2 in synchronism with the belt 29on the rotary member 28. The shaft 28' is therefore revolved at arelatively high speed, so as to properly actuate the high speedtransmission device.

the medium of a small sprocket wheel 52 fixed to the power shaft 28, alarge sprocket wheel 53 fixed to one of the shafts 14, and a sprocketchain 54 fitted to said wheels 52 and 53. A spring actuated tightener 55may be fitted to the chain 54:, as shown in Fig. I, to compensate foradjustments of the high speed transmission device. The sprocket wheel 52is detachably secured to the power shaft 28' by means of a set screw 56,(Fig. II) and the relative speeds of the two cooperating feeding devicesmay be changed by removing the sprocket wheel 52 and substitutingtherefor a larger or smaller sprocket wheel.

The power transmission devices also include sprocket wheels 57 (Figs. Iand II) secured to the shafts 14, and a sprocket chain 58 fitted to saidsprocket wheels. The large drum 6 may be driven through the medium of apinion 59 fixed to one of the shafts 14 and meshing with a larger gearwheel 60, the latter being fixed to a shaft 61 provided with a sprocketwheel 62. 63 designates a sprocket chain for transmitting movement fromthe sprocket wheel 62 to a much larger sprocket wheel 34: (Fig. I) onthe shaft 6 to which the drumfi is secured.

All of the power mechanism may be driven continuously, with the resultof rapidly transferring the sheets, one ata time, from the inclinedpile, at the same time causing the sheets to accumulate, one over theother, in a long slow-moving pile with their gum-receiving marginsexposed in a continuous line, as previously pointed out.

The low speed feeding device is driven through I claim: 1. Ina machinefor feeding and arranging sheets of material to expose marginal portionsthereof, a high speed rotary transmission device whereby individualsheets are discharged one over the other, and an accumulator whereby thesheets are retarded and caused to accumulate in a long continuous pile,said accumulator including a low speed feeding device comprising a pairof rotary feed rolls arranged in advance of said rotary transmissiondevice to receive the sheets discharged therefrom. I

2. In a machine for feeding and'arranging sheets of material to exposemarginal portions thereof, a high speed rotary transmission devicewhereby individual sheets are portions thereof, a high speed feedingdevice whereby the sheets of material are transmitted at a relativelyhigh speed, and an accumulator whereby the sheets are retarded andcaused to accumulate in a long continuous pile, said accumulatorincluding a low speed feeding device arranged to receive the sheetsdischarged from said high speed feeding device, one of said feedingdevices being adjustable toward and away from the other to provide forthe transferring and accumulation of sheets of different dimensions.

4. In a machine for feeding and arranging sheets of material to exposemarginal portions'thereof, a high speed feeding device whereby thesheets of material are transmitted at a relatively high speed, and anaccumulator whereby the sheets are retarded and caused to accumulate ina long continuous pile, said accumulator including a low speed feedingdevice arranged to receive the sheets discharged from saidhigh speedfeeding device, a support for one of said feeding devices, a guide onwhich said support is adjustably mounted, and means for securing saidsupport in different positions to provide for the transferring andaccumulation of sheets of different dimen- SlOIlS.

5. In a machine for feeding and arranging sheets of material to exposemarginal portions thereof, a high speed feeding device whereby thesheets of material are tarded and caused to accumulate in a' longcontinuous pile, saidaccumulator including a support arranged in advanceof said high s eed feeding device to receive the sheets dlschargedtherefrom, and a low speed feeding device arranged in advance of saidsupport to feed the sheets therefrom, one of said feeding devices and aportion of said support being adjustable toward and away rom the otherfeeding device to provide for the transferring, and accumulation ofsheets of different dlmensions. 6; In a machine for feeding andarranging sheets of material to expose marginal portions thereof, a highspeed transmission device whereby the sheets are transmitted at arelatively high speed, and an accumulator whereby the sheets areretarded and caused to accumulate .in a long continuous pile,| saidaccumulator including a pair of feed rolls arranged to receive thesheets discharged from said high'speed transmission device,a secondpairof feed rolls to which the sheets are 'fed' by the first mentionedrolls, and a rotary drum arranged to receive the sheets passing fromsaid second pair of feed rolls.

7. In a machine for feeding and arranging sheets of material to exposemarginal portions thereof, a high Speed transmission device whereby thesheets are transmitted at a relatively high speed, and an accumulatorwhereby the sheets are retarded and caused to accumulate ina longcontinuous pile, said accumulator including a pair of feed rollsarranged to receive the sheets discharged from said high speedtransmission device, a second pair of feed rolls to which the sheets arefed by the first mentioned rolls, a. re tary drum arranged to receivethe sheets passing from said second pair of feed rolls, and a deflectorarranged to deflect the sheets from said second pair of feed rolls tothe periphery of said rotary drum.

8. In a machine for feeding and arrangingsheets of material to exposemarginal portions thereof, a high speed transmission device whereby thesheets are transmitted at a relatively high speed, and an accumulatorwhereby the sheets are retarded and caused to accumulate in -a longcontinuous pile, an actuating mechanism including means whereb the speedof one of said devices may be c anged independently of the other so asto provide for the exposure of margins of different widths.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto affix my signature.

CHARLES F. PELANZE.

